Trainer Tales: To Love Another
by MaverickKayPrime
Summary: Pokémon Masters and their Pokémon are suppose to have simple relationships. Friends for ever and that's it. Only weird people begin to have feelings for their Pokémon, right? Then why, for the life of me, do I keep having these feelings for mine?
1. Chapter 1

Trainer Tales

To Love Another

Was it so wrong to have these feelings?

There had been many times like this in Maverick's life when he wondered that question. Right now, as he stood on route 217, heading toward Snowpoint, that thought re-entered his mind. His Lucario, Courage stood before him, with her cool and composed personality. The red hat he bought her not to long ago laid on her head, as she stood tall against the oncoming snow. Before them, their foe, a Stountland owned by a fellow trainer.

"Courage, Aura Sphere!" he commanded, causing his Pokémon's eyes to gleam.

Quickly, she cupped her paws together, and began charging a magnificent blue blast.

"Stountland, Double-Edge!" his opponent ordered causing the great canine to charge forward.

It was a fruitless effort, as by the time he arrived to his foe, the aura Pokémon had finished her attack. She stepped back, before leaping up high, whilst sending her blue attack at her foe. Snow flew skyward as a the blast collided with its foe. When the snowy smoke subsided, the only thing left was the unconscious body belonging to the Stoutland. Courage landed safely moments later, as Maverick's opponent looked down in defeated.

"Okay fine..." he said, "You win."

Maverick smiled in victory, before being pelted by a series of heavy snowfall. He gazed up from under his coat's hood, and saw the grey clouds of a dangerous snow.

"Crap, its hailing!" he called out.

He looked out toward his opponent, but the storms fog constricted his view.

"Hello!" he roared, but got no answer, "Courage! Where are you!?"

"Luc...? Lucario!" she called out.

"Use your aura powers and make a light, I'll come to you!"

Poking out through the heavy snow and hail, Maverick could see the blue flames of his Pokémon. He dragged his legs through the already high snow, and finally came to Courage's being.

"Courage!" he announced as he wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her close. For some reason... the way she felt against his hands was... it was tender.

"Lucario!" she called, her voice urgent.

"We need to get somewhere safe... but I can't see anything!"

"Lucario!" she yelled, using her aura powers to temporarily clear a pathway for them through the snow.

With the area temporarily visible, Maverick made out a brown wooden building lying on a mountain side.

"Quick Courage!" he yelled jerking his Pokémon forward.

They trudged through the snow forcefully, before finally arriving at the front door. Though it was barricaded off, Courage punched the door open easily and coming in on the other side, she quickly sealed the entryway using the same door. It was silent inside, save for the Pokémon and her trainer's gasping, it was the opposite outside. Maverick gazed through a window, and saw the storm raging outdoors.

"Wow..." he said as he removed his hood, "Aren't we lucky, huh Courage?"

He looked back to his Lucario to see her shivering from the cold. Maverick raised an eyebrow at this. Seeing her shiver from cold was so out of character for her.

"Courage?" he said, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, before standing tall.

"L-L-L-Lu-c-c-c-c-ari-i-i-io..." she said through chattering teeth.

Maverick smiled playfully, before he closed the distance between the two with a loving embrace. Due to his warm touch, or maybe because of it, Courage hugged closer to her master. Maverick didn't protest to this, as he felt his Pokémon's hug to be warm. Gazing over to the shacks indoors, Maverick was surprised to see such a quaint living arrangement. An old rug laid on the ground, along with a dusty and disused couch. Weathered lamps laid attached on the walls, give an air of age to the long since abandoned building. Maverick chuckled as he thought on his predicament.

"It's funny how we run into these moments, huh Courage?" he asked his faithful partner.

Turning to look at her, he found her eyes closing slightly. He smiled sweetly, before lifting the red and white Poké ball that belonged to Courage.

"C'mon Courage," he said, "you've tired yourself out enough today."

She looked at the ball in his hands, before shaking her head in a defiant manner.

"Luc... cario!" she protested.

"Come on Courage, your tired and cold. You could use some rest."

Once more, she shook her head no.

"Lucario!"

Though she presented herself as capable, Maverick could tell she was tired, and as much as he wanted to have company within the shack, he would never put his Pokémon in a dangerous position.

"This isn't negotiable Courage." Maverick said with a stern voice, "Now, return!"

She gave him a regretful look as he pointed the tip of her Poké ball toward her. But then, his Poké ball began to malfunction. Electrical shocks began to emit from the ball rapidly. Maverick and Courage looked at the ball closely, before it suddenly returned to the small standby mode. Maverick tapped the button in the center of the ball, but it refused to return to its 'on' state. He traded looks with his partner, before withdrawing another Poké ball from his satchel. What lied in the palm of his hand, was another small Poké ball. He tapped the center button, but it too refused to go to it's on state. Withdrawing a Quick ball, he tried to open it too, but it staid off. This was followed by an Ultra ball, and then a Great ball, and then a Luxury ball, but unfortunately, all of these balls shared the same thing. They refused to open.

"Courage... what's going on?" he asked.

Her eyes shined a brilliant yellow color, characterizing the use of her aura powers. A blue flame suddenly sprouted from her paws, and she quickly leveled it toward the rest of the house.

"Lucario!" she suddenly barked out.

"What is it Courage!?" Maverick inquired.

A great and brilliant light suddenly began to shine from out of the window. At first it was nothing, but the light constantly grew, becoming blinding to all. Maverick covered his eyes as he stretched out his hand in an effort to grab his Pokémon. He felt nothing.

"Courage!" he called, "Courage, where are you!?"

Removing his hand from his eyes, he found out he was alone on a tropical beach.

"What in the hell?" he said as he stepped forward.

Sea water dragged its way onto the beach as an over arching blue sun hung over head. Coconut trees stood tall behind him, while the sky swirled about in a wonderful, yet surreal color of violet. Maverick dragged his hands through the sand, pulling back a rainbow assortment of sediments and dirt. To say the trainer was confused would be an understatement.

"Okay... once again... what in the hell is this shit?"

Stepping forward toward the sea, Maverick began to question his own sanity.

"Courage where are you?" he called out, but to no avail.

A slight grimace appeared on his face, while he heard a deranged, sadistic chuckle resonate through the air. This torturous laughter sounded eerily familiar to the young trainer. He dragged his hand through his black hair as the chortles grew louder and louder. He quickly looked up the vibrant colored sky, and scoffed.

"I don't believe it." he said, clearly enraged, "I mean, I seriously don't fucking believe it."

"What's wrong Prime? Scared of what you haven't seen in a while?"

"Darkrai!" Maverick exclaimed, raging seethed into his words.

The beach began to distort into wild and vivid illusions. The trees grew faces with wailing expressions, the skys produced clouds in the shape of skulls, while the sand itself twisted into weird demonic symbols. Maverick laid his hand on his face, before speaking out in an annoyed manner,

"Are you done showing off yet, Darkrai?"

"You're no fun Maverick." a ghastly voice answered him.

Phazing in from the shadows, a horrific being of evil energies appeared. It had no legs, and its body appeared cloak like in appearance. A white plume laid on its head, reminiscent of smoke, while a red jaw like appendage hung at the bottom of what could be called its head.

With gleaming blue eyes, the Pitch-Black Pokémon looked at Maverick with playful eyes.

"Long time no see Pokémon master."

"I wish I could say the same, Darkrai." Maverick replied as he crossed his arms.

In all of Maverick's time on this planet, he had run into Darkrai only once. That one time though, was so deeply embedded in Maverick's mind though, he would never forget it. It happened years ago. Maverick had got his last badge of the Sinnoh league, and was preparing for his eventual battle with the Elite Four. His quest took a side track when he decided to visit Canalave City for some well deserved R & R. Upon arrival, Maverick was surprised to find a sickly looking old man. This old man gave him a member card, saying it was a gift for all of his hard work. Maverick couldn't honestly remember what happened next, but he did remember wild and vivid nightmares, as well as a face off on Newmoon island.

"So... I see those scars of yours have healed." Maverick said, a noticable smirk appearing on his lips, "Oh yeah, Misty did a number on you that day."

The nightmare Pokémon crossed his arms as his blue eyes peered deeply into Maverick's soul.

"Yes well... Dragon's have that effect on me..."

"Well... let me quit beating around the bush, where the hell am I?"

Darkrai's sadistic chuckle returned as those words entered his head.

"Where's Courage Maverick?" he suddenly asked.

Maverick raised an eyebrow, as his eyesight sharpened.

"What are you getting at?" he questioned, his voice sounding venomous.

"I just wanted to know, ya'know?"

"I don't know where she's at... but I know she had better be okay, or else your nightmare giving days are over!"

"Such threatening vigor!"

Suddenly Maverick's strong hands wrapped their way around Darkrai's neck.

"Where the hell is she Darkrai!?" Maverick roared.

The Pitch-Black Pokémon remained adamant as he stared long and hard into Maverick's eyes.

"Oh Maverick, I'm just trying to have a little fun here! It's only once in a new moon I ever leave that cursed island."

"I'm not going to play your shit today Darkrai! Tell me where Courage is!?"

"Sigh... look who's angry today. You know, your only proving those stereotypes black people get."

"What the fuck is wrong with your head!? Tell me where Courage is or so help me God, I will blow your brains out!"

"Really? With your what?"

"With my," reaching toward his Poké belt, Maverick withdrew a banana, "gun?"

"Hah! Can't you see Maverick, you're in my world now."

"So what? I'm dreaming?"

"Maybe... maybe not... It seems I can morph the world to my will, trainer."

"That's bullshit."

"Maybe, but look where you're at... in my world."

"Just tell me where Courage is, and I won't have to crack your head open with my fist."

"Temper, temper, Maverick. Fine, since you're in such a bad mood, here..."

Clapping his ghostly appendages together, the wailing trees moved to the side, creating a walkway for the trainer. Where said walkway lead to, Maverick did not know.

"This had better not be a trick Darkrai!" Maverick said. But as he turned to face said Pokémon, he found out he was gone. So with a sigh and a mumble, he trekked off down the walkway.

...

Cold water rushed down through her blue and black fur. The Aura Pokémon couldn't believe what she was feeling.

"Master Maverick!?" she called out, but there was no answer.

Bringing her head above the water, she was surprised to see she was in a great oasis. Her eyes began to shine a brilliant yellow as she scanned the area with her aura powers, but much to her ire she found that the land returned nothing. No aura whatsoever resonated from the grounds around her. She stood tall above the oasis waters as she came to terms with her predicament.

"Master Maverick?" she called out again, but lower this time.

It was at this moment of time that a pink bar of soap brushed up against her leg. It splashed around in the waters near Courage's leg, as if begging to be lifted. She picked it up slowly as suds and bubbles dripped onto her fur. This caused her to twitch her nose uneasily.

"Jeeze Courage, you got real dirty today..." Maverick's voice echoed into her ear.

The aura Pokémon quickly jerked her head left and right. To her dismay, her master was not in the vicinity. Strangely, she could feel his presence. Using her aura powers, she discovered the bar of soap held the same aura signature as her master.

"Courage!" she could hear him say.

"Master?" she answered.

"I'm here Courage!"

Quickly she straightened up. Gazing off to the treetop canopies of the oasis, she used her powerful steel legs to clear the distance of the water.


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright Darkrai, I'm sick of your shit!" Maverick yelled out to the vast empty skies.

Complete and utter silence came back to him, much to his displeasure. He crossed his arms as he returned to his trekking. He felt such a strange sensation in his heart. It was like a void was inside of him, but he did not know why. Was he scared? No, not for himself... he was worried about Courage.

Looking down to the ground, he realized it transformed from a walkway of sand and grass, into a pathway similarly to a rocky mountainside. There was something awkwardly familiar about all of this. As Maverick looked up and down the mountainside, he discovered where he was. Mt. Coronet...

Gazing to his side, he saw, of all people, the young, eleven year old version of himself. The clothes his young self wore was vastly different from the ones he wore now. His child self wore a blue backpack, along with a red and white hoody, and blue jeans. And though he were the same person, it was clear that the boy beside him was younger, due to the happy chipper face he had.

"Man." he said, his voice high-pitched, "I think we need to get back to Hoenn... I really shouldn't have headed out so far..."

"Tramp..." Misty, who was only a Trapinch at the time, replied.

"I know, I know Misty." Maverick said as he rubbed her head. "But the boat from Canalave to Hoenn won't be here for a while, and I refuse to sit down all day waiting for it... besides, those things get me sick."

The older Maverick chuckled at his younger self. He remembered when boat rides gave him headaches and stomach cramps. Looking up and around, it suddenly hit him. This day, was the day Courage hatched from her egg.

"Man, Sinnoh has some weird Pokémon. Before I head back to Hoenn, I plan on catching me one of those Bunearys... and a Pachirisu, while I'm at it... just two, don't wanna get in over my head, ya'know? Not yet, at least. Can you imagine, I whip into one of those gyms with my Sinnoh Pokémon! Everyone'll be jealous!"

A low rumbling, similar to a tremor, suddenly began to course through the ground. Maverick, that is the young Maverick, looked back down the dirt path he traveled on. Heading his way, a jeep with with a stylized gold 'G' on it. Young Maverick quickly leaped back, dodging the huge vehicle with time to spare. It stopped moments later, with strange people wearing astronaut like suits stepping out. Most of them had light blue hair, which caused a surreal feeling to spur within the young Pokémon trainer. One of the men, a very tall fellow with greyish blue hair, stepped out only after everyone else.

"I see... so this is Mt. Coronet."

Moments later, a few more jeeps pulled up, along with a great eighteen wheeler. The young Pokémon trainer looked up at the truck with awe. How such a big thing was able to get its way up here was a mystery in itself.

"Let's set up base camp quickly..." the grey haired man said, "Near the summit should be good."

"But, Commander Cyrus!" a blue haired boy said running up, "What about our base in Veilstone?"

The man's face didn't change as he slowly looked down to his subordinate.

"Calm down Saturn, I'll leave you in charge of it."

Slowly, the man's eyes looked up the tall, tall mountain, until he noticed the little black boy out the corner of his eye. There was a deep silence as everyone with the gold 'G' on their clothes, gazed long and hard at the young Maverick. Misty opened her big mouth seconds later, before yelling out,

"Traaaaaaaaaaaap!"

"Uh... calm down Misty." Little Maverick whispered.

"Well well," A purple haired vixen said, "Look at what we have here."

Young Maverick quickly began to blush, before he said,

"Uh... good afternoon Miss..."

"And he's polite. Such a rarity." she continued.

"Tell me boy, what brings you all the way up here?" The grey haired one, Cyrus, said.

"I was going on my Hoenn league challenge, but somewhere along the way I ended up here."

"I'll say, Hoenn is far, far away." a red-headed girl said.

"Oh don't tease the boy, Mars." the purple haired woman continued, "So, how did you get all the way up here?"

"Adventure..." Young Maverick said a bit flustered.

"Hmm... I see..."

"Jupiter!" Cyrus called once again, causing her to back off from the young boy. He slowly closed the distance between himself and Maverick, his stern look not once changing. When he came close to Maverick, the young trainer was surprised to see just how small he was compared to the much older man.

"Tell me." Cyrus said, his voice almost commanding respect, "What do you believe in?"

"Uh... God?"

Cyrus chuckled.

"A christian, I see... Tell me, how do you feel about emotions and such?"

"Emotions... well... aren't they a good thing?"

Cyrus' face did not change, but a shimmering gleam echoed in his eyes.

"Emotions as a good thing huh? How about the negative emotions? Ones such as greed, hate, lust... how do you feel about those?"

"They can be done away with... they bring nothing but unhappiness."

"So you do understand. Strange, most adults can't comprehend what these _evil _emotions do to our world, and yet a boy as a young as you knows." Slowly, he bent his head upwards, and gazed off toward Mt. Coronet's summit, "How old are you?"

"Eleven."

"Hmm... so very young." Cyrus chuckled to himself, before reaching into his pocket, "Here child." He said as he withdrew a small object, "Come back when your done with your Hoenn quest. We'll talk more then."

Opening the palm of Maverick's hand, the Galactic leader placed in it a golden stylized 'G' badge, similar to the ones on the jeeps.

"I'll see you later..." he commented as he stood and walked off, "Now come Team Galactic, we have much work to do."

Instead of returning to their jeeps, the group of astronaut like men and women continued up the mountainside on foot. Young Maverick watched them trek off, while he looked down at the golden badge in his hands.

"Wow... what a strange man... what do you think Misty?"

"Trapinch..." she said solemnly.

"I understand... c'mon, let's get back to Canalave... For some reason, I'm itching to get back to Hoenn."

Misty opened her big jaw in a playful manner, showing she agreed with his decision. Latching his hands on his book bag straps, the young trainer stepped off with lively vigor. It wouldn't take him that long to get back to Canalave. So, stepping off, the young Pokémon trainer moved on with a spring in his step. A spring that was soon to be ended by collapsing rocks.

The mountainside shook uneasily, much to Maverick's ire. Gazing up, he noticed a rock slide was heading his way. He froze up, at first, before reaching into his backpack to withdraw a normal red and white Poké ball.

"Go, Blaze!" he called out, sending the capsule flying.

It snapped open against the ground, revealing the quiet, and young, Combusken from within.

"Combusken!" he yelled out quickly.

"Blaze, get rid of those rocks, Double Kick!" Maverick ordered.

The young fowl Pokémon nodded, before leaping up at full speeds. Using his powerful legs, he effortlessly destroyed boulder after boulder. But there was many boulder's and he was only one Pokémon. Young Maverick grew a bit more tense, before reaching into his bag once more.

"Now I wish I had a flying-type on me." he quickly exposited before yelling out, "Go! Queen!"

Tossing forth a great ball, Maverick sent out his next Pokémon, the live coal Pokémon,

"MAGBY!" she claimed.

"Queen, Mach Punch!"

The small fire type nodded, before running up to the boulders at high speeds. Her fist glowing, she delivered great punch, after great punch to the tumbling rocks, destroying them with each strike. Maverick nodded, before yelling out,

"Misty, Signal Beam!"

His Trapinch straightened herself up, before firing a vibrant and colorful beam towards the rocks aiding her friends. His trifecta of Pokémon were doing greatly, each time a rock came near, they would destroy it easily. Maverick was in awe at his Pokémon greatness, before a more pressing matter took his attention.

He felt a strange and violent bump in his book bag. Maverick at first ignored it, thinking it was a rock that fell onto him, but when the bump happened again, only stronger this time, he was worried. Looking back, he could have sworn he heard something.

"Go, Ace!" Maverick called, sending out a red and white Poké ball.

Landing on the ground, the Poké ball snapped open, and brought to being the dark-type hound,

"Poochyena!"

"Ace, Rock Smash!" Maverick called.

The bite Pokémon ran forward, and delivered a savage headbutt to any and all rocks that came his way, effectively destroying them in the process. This battling of the rocks went on for two minutes, before the rock slide ended, leaving Maverick's Pokémon tired and bewildered. But the young trainer had a more imposing matter to attend to.

Sliding his book bag off, and putting it to his front, he immediately unzipped it. Muffled noises echoed out from the small bag, gaining the attention of Maverick's Pokémon.

"Combusk?" Blaze said in an asking tone.

"Trapinch! Trapinch!" Misty probably replied.

Maverick reached his hands into the bag, before bringing out a coiled mess of blankets and clothing. Unraveling them, he revealed to his Pokémon the egg he held within for so long.

"Oh my God..." he said, as he watched the egg shake, "I think its hatching!"

His Pokémon gathered around him while he laid the egg on the plateau of blankets and clothes. The egg stood straight up pefectly as it's quaking grew more and more violent. Maverick's eyes were glued onto the small shell. Never before had he seen a Pokémon egg hatch, and boy was he interested. It shook over and over again, the calls from within grew louder and louder, and Maverick's interest was only getting bigger.

Suddenly an egg piece snapped off. Maverick angled his eyes to within the egg, before another piece of egg broke off too. Maverick looked at the creäture long and hard, when another piece broke. This piece was larger though, and revealed a strange creäture within.

It's head poked out the hole it made, as its paws broke off another piece moments later.

"Ri...oooll...uu!" it call out, it's voice a squeal compared to the world.

It was covered in egg juices, whatever that may be, for Maverick was in no need to find out. It's body was a hot pink color, an attribute akin to most, if not all, newborn mammals, and its eyes were closed, despite its need to know what was happening. The baby was a Riolu, Pokémon young Maverick had never seen before.

"Wow..." he said.

"Pooch?" Ace said as it got closer.

"Magby, Magby!" Queen scolded her canine friend.

"Shhh! Everyone!" Maverick said.

Slowly, he brought his hands to the small creäture, and took it out from its egg. Though he had egg juices on his hands, Maverick did not care. He looked long and hard at the small creäture within his arms as he wondered what it was.

"Riiiiiii!" it cooed, causing Maverick to smile.

"Hey now." he said, "Calm down... I'm here."

Grabbing a towel with a blue pearl imprint from his bag, the young trainer wrapped the small baby within it in a comforting style. Holding her through the towel, Maverick felt a swelling sense of pride. Though he did not know how to raise a baby Pokémon, he knew it wouldn't be all that hard. After all, Blaze was nothing but a baby Torchic when he first gained him, and raising him wasn't that hard. So, looking down to the small pink Riolu in his arms, he wondered what he should call it. Dragging his hand down the bridge of the Riolu's nose, his mind was filled with many thoughts and images.

"Courage." he said, "Courage is your name."

The Rioulu said nothing as it began to shiver.

"Courage..." he said again, "Courage..."

That name echoed into the older Maverick's head. The image of the day Courage hatched from her egg began to slowly melt away, leaving the Pokémon trainer alone in a void of white.

"Courage..." he said solemnly to himself, "Courage..."

That feeling entered him again. That pit of unhappiness, and loneliness. That pit of worriment for Courage. He was scared... fearful for his beloved Pokémon.

But he wouldn't show it.

"DARKRAI!" he roared as he suddenly began to run.


	3. Chapter 3

Courage wasn't sure when the oasis went away, and when the fields appeared, but she was sure she had been running for while. The grassy area was a welcome change from the oasis, as the flowers on the ground made a beautiful sea of colors. The skies were a beautiful blue, with long strands of clouds coiled around the yellow sun. To say this was not beautiful would be a bull faced lie.

Courage had seen many places like this on her adventures with her master, so seeing this was no different to her. Oddly enough, she felt as if this place was familiar, as if she had seen it before.

"Courage!" Maverick's voice echoed, "Finally you showed up!"

She twirled around quickly at the sound of her Master's voice. There he was, in all his splendor, though he wasn't wearing the same clothes he was when he arrived in the shack.

"Master Maverick! You're alright!" she said to him.

"Yeah, I've been wondering around this place looking for you."

"You... you weren't the one who was calling me earlier?"

"Me? No! I was busy looking for you, I just kept hearing you call me though. So I ran until I came here."

Slowly, Courage removed her base-ball cap, as she inhaled deeply.

"I was so worried about you Courage." Maverick suddenly said, causing his Pokémon to quickly jerk up.

"What? Master?"

"I said, I was worried about you." he closed the distance between the to so slowly, "I didn't know how much I could worry about you."

"M-Master..."

His hand found its way onto her cheek, while his free hand landed safely on her shoulder.

"I mean... what could I do without my Lucario?"

"Master Maverick, I-"

"Shhh, Courage." he said as he placed his finger on her lips, "I didn't know... just how much I needed you until I lost you."

"Master Maverick."

His hand slowly traveled up and down her sleek body, a touch that caused her body to heat up.

"And I... just couldn't stand the thought of losing you." Maverick continued as his hand left her cheek and slid down to her chest, "I mean... you're always so cool and calm, I didn't know if I could go on without you."

"Master... what are you doing?"

"I'm expressing something for you, Courage." he said, his hand dragging through her black coils of hair.

"What are you expressing." she said, as she got a bit closer.

"Something I've kept held in for much to long..."

"What is that?" she asked, her face turning a cherry read.

"My love for you."

He angled her face toward his, and slowly pushed his lips onto hers. Courage was, understandably, taken by surprise at first. Her master, the man who had raised her since she first hatched from her egg, was kissing her right now. His tongue, swirled about in her mouth, much to her pleasure. She melted at the kiss, loosing her grip on things, and hung on desperately to him. She always wondered about her master in such a lover's way. Wondered if one day, he would do things with her he wouldn't with his other Pokémon. But long ago, she turned her back on that view. Her Master viewed her as a friend, _not _a lover. This caused her eyes to shine its yellow color. Viewing her Master's aura, she suddenly began to squint.

"Master Maverick." she said, breaking their kiss.

"Yes, Courage?" he replied, his eyes closed.

Suddenly, she thrusted her chest spike into his ribs. Maverick coughed up at first, as Courage's painful embrace grew tighter and tighter. He began to hack up bits and pieces of his own blood, while he leaned over Courage's shoulder in an effort to keep himself up.

"Why?" he said, his voice pained.

"You are not my master..." she said.

"Huh?"

"I read your aura... it's a vile and villanous aura! Much different from the main that trains me."

"Heh heh heh... well I guess you got me there." he said.

Courage dropped the doppelgänger's body, while she looked him up and down. The hole she made in his chest was not filled with blood, but instead butterflies for some deranged reason. The creatures flew high in the sky, and constricted Courage's view for a good minute, before dispersing rapidly. When Courage could see again, she was surprised to find herself in a hotel room.

She looked up and down the room, as she tried to figure out where she was. Then it hit her. Jubilife City... this was the day Maverick started his Sinnoh league quest. Gazing up and down the walls of the hotel room, she could remember the day perfectly. And then it started to play out for her.

"Well I guess we're gonna, have to take control..." she heard echoing from the bathroom.

She quickly moved into it, just in time to see her master washing his hands. He was thirteen now, and little over a few months ago, he defeated Steven in a no hold's bar battle. Courage remembered that battle. She had taken down Steven's Aggron in a difficult battle, one that she remembers to this day. Gazing up and down her master, she came to notice just how mature he was on that day, even at the age of thirteen. Pokémon training would do that to you.

"M-M-Master Maverick?" a young voice appeared at the bathroom's doorway.

Maverick turned around to face the speaker, just to see the eyes of his Lucario, Courage. This Courage was younger though, and her voice was much higher.

"Ah, Courage, what's wrong?" Maverick said, his face brightening up.

"I was just wondering, if you would... wash me... today..." she said, though to Maverick that equaled, "Luc... Lucario... cario... Luc..."

"Courage, I didn't understand a word you just said."

The young Courage grimaced, before moving slowly toward the bath tub. Lifting a sponge, she turned to her master and said,

"Lucario..."

Maverick looked her up and down for a few seconds before it hit him.

"Oh, oh! You want me to wash you, is that it?"

Courage nodded uneasily, as an embarrassed blush spread on her face.

"Lucario..." she said as she grabbed herself.

Maverick crossed his arms, as he sized up his Pokémon's body. She was a bit dirty, not much so that it was noticeable, but still much more than she needed to be. Maverick at first questioned why his Pokémon needed him to wash her, before ultimately conforming to her rules.

"Okay Courage, get in the tub, I'll clean you."

She nodded, before stepping daintily into the tub.

"Lucario..." she said embarrassed.

Maverick turned the knob on the pearly white heat valve, causing warm water to spew out of the shower head. It doused Courage down, and caused her fur to get soft and curly. The water grew dark almost immediately, causing Maverick to chuckle.

"Wow, show's what I know! You really are dirty!"

Courage sulked down deeper, while an embarrassed blush grew across her face.

"Hey! Hey! I don't mean it like that Courage!" he said, "I was just... surprised, is all... I guess your fur holds a lot of that muk in, huh?"

"Lucario." she answered as she gazed down to the dirty water.

"Oh well, c'mon, let me get some soap and stuff."

The trainer left the room shortly before returning with a bag of hygeine equipment.

"I always carry this stuff around," he said, "Just in case of some impromptu cleaning!"

Courage nodded, but remained silent otherwise. Maverick took out a pink bar of soap, and brought it slowly to the falling water. By just a few little drops, it quickly produced pink foamy bubbles. He brought the slippery soap to a sponge, and rubbed the two together slowly. Courage looked at her master out the corner of her eye as he did this. As powerful as she was, right now, she felt so weak.

Bringing the soapy sponge to Courage's back, Maverick slowly began to swirl around her fur. Soap and suds ran deep down her furry body, until they reached her skin beneath. A slight hum echoed from his lips as he dragged the soap laden sponge up and down his Pokémon's body.

"I can't remember the last time I washed one of my Pokémon." Maverick suddenly said, "I think it was Misty, cause I vaguely remember washing her when she was a Vibrava, but I'm not so sure... could've been you when you were still a Riolu, but I'm not entirely convinced. I remember when I first tried to clean Blaze! Boy did he flip! I learned a valuable lesson that day, don't ever try to clean a fire-type!" He looked down at his Pokémon with a smile, but she gave him a grimace. "Oh chin up Courage!" he said to her.

The Lucario crossed her arms as she looked up to her Master's eyes.

"Stand up," he commanded, "Let me get your legs." Courage's face turned a hot red as she looked at her master square in the eye. He grinned at first, before saying, "Or maybe you can get your legs... just saying."

Handing her a hand clothe of her one own, Maverick also handed her the pink bar of soap. Courage took in the pink soap, as it reflected the gleam in her eyes. Dragging it against the hand clothe her master gave her, she filled it with soapy suds, before dragging it up and down her legs. As much as she protested her master cleaning her legs, she kinda wished he would. She wished he would do it anyway. She wished he would forcefully wash her legs and thighs, regardless of what she said. Looking up to her master, she wondered if he was thinking the same.

"C'mon Courage, let me get your chest spike."

She nodded, and turned to face her Master. He smiled, before dragging his sponge up and down her chest spike.

"Boy, I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of this thing." he commented.

Courage felt so awkward poking out her chest so her master could clean it. Though she could easily do it herself, she wasn't sure if she had the skill to clean it thoroughly. Besides, her Master had a much more tender hand than she did, and when he touched her spike, it felt soft.

"Heh heh, this thing's so clean, I can see myself in it." Maverick said as he finished her spike, "Hope your done with your legs Courage."

"Lucario." she said as she nodded.

"Good! Now get under the water, it should wash away the rest of the dirt."

She nodded again, and did as she was told. Standing under the water of the shower head, the dirt was quickly removed. Out the corner of her eye, she looked at her Master. He looked her up and down to make sure not one patch of dirt remained on her skin. Secretly though, Courage was wishing he was looking at her for different reasons. She wondered if her Master ever saw her as beautiful, cute, sexy even. She knew he saw her as cool, he was quick to give her praise for that, but never did he ever call her beautiful. Courage recalled the time Maverick first saw a Lopunny. For what felt like hours afterwords, he wouldn't shut up about how beautiful those creatures. It made her jealous, all though she'll never say it. Just once, he wanted her Master to call her beautiful.

"You really are a beautiful Pokémon, Courage." he said.

She jerked her eyes over to him to make sure she didn't imagine that.

"No seriously, you really are beautiful." Maverick repeated.

With the dirt gone, her fur shined a brighter sheen, one Maverick felt was alluring. Turning off the water, he slowly withdrew a towel with a pearl imprint on it.

"Your favorite, right?" he said as he handed it to her.

She took it slowly, and nodded as a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Dry yourself off Courage, don't want you tracking water everywhere." she nodded again, "Good, now if you don't mind, I've got to figure out what we are having for dinner."

Exiting the room, Maverick left the Lucario to her own devices. She dragged the dry towel up and down her body, removing the water as she did so. In her head, images of her Master, and thoughts on how he felt about her. Courage was in love with her trainer, and she hated it. She knew, that no matter how hard she would try, they would be separate... forever.

Stepping out of the tub, she wondered why. Why did he give her such a deranged sense of love. She knew he loved her, that was a given, but Maverick loved all of his Pokémon. And she, was one of his Pokémon. He would love her no differently than how he would love Blaze, or Misty, or Zeo. She knew that now. No matter what, Maverick only loved her as one of his most valuable Pokémon. Not like a lover... but more like a friend.

"From this day on..." the young Courage said, "I'm going to get rid of these feelings..."

Hanging her pearl towel over her shoulder, she left the room moments later.

The apparition faded seconds later, leaving the now grown Courage alone in a void of space. Listening to her say those words made her sad. She remembered making that promise to herself, and she remembered failing it. She still loved her Master, no matter what, and she still wished he would take her aside for himself. Many nights she remembered dreaming that, and it never faded away. She hated herself for that.

"Master Maverick..." she said somberly, before stepping off to venture through the void.


	4. Chapter 4

"You are, a real work of art, you know that Darkrai?" Maverick said as he sat on a random tree stump.

The fingers on his hands tapped against his chin one after another, as he contemplated his next move. So far, traveling through this void was fruitless. The only thing he accomplished was finding the stump he sat on now. Gazing up and down the dark void, he wondered when the nightmare Pokémon would show his ugly red mug.

"Oh come now Maverick, aren't we having fun?" the Pokémon in question asked as he phased in from the ground.

"You just love fucking with me, don't you Darkrai?" Maverick asked.

"What, didn't you enjoy re-watching the day Courage came into your life?"

"Why does that matter to you, plus, how the hell did you find out about that day?"

"Didn't I get that memory perfectly? I'm an artist Maverick, attention to detail is my strong suit."

"What, were you following me around even before I fought you?"

"No, but I can play with people's minds."

"And that includes bringing their memories to life, like some virtual movie?"

"It seems so, doesn't it? Ya'know, you have strong feelings for that Lucario, Courage."

"Of course I do, she's my Pokémon."

"I bet you see her as more than that, huh?"

For some reason, that statement set a cord off in Maverick's mind.

"I don't have time for you shit Darkrai! Let me and Courage go right now, and this doesn't have to escalate!"

"Escalate? Maverick you do realize I have the power in this world?"

"That doesn't frighten me!"

"Always the fearless trainer, always..."

Quickly, the ghastly Pokémon slapped the trainer. When Maverick struck back with a hard punch, he hand glided through the air flawlessly. Darkrai had disappeared after his strike, and left a glowing door in his wake. Maverick laid a hand on his forehead, before saying,

"Oh great, what memory am I seeing next?"

He grabbed onto the doors knob, and opened it slowly. The door led off into a small, cozy, dinner of some sorts. It had a lax air, with all those entering being forced into a lazy persona. Maverick remembered this place, how could he forget? It was within the heart of Rustboro city. Danny's Diner, was its name, and it was the site of young Maverick's boasting.

Entering the building only seconds later, was his younger self. Eleven year old Maverick stepped into the dinner, his face shimmering with happiness. In his hands, a golden badge. The Stone badge.

"I can't believe it!" Maverick said, his body ecstatic, "Oh boy, I've got my first badge!"

On the young boys shoulder, his faithful first Pokémon, Blaze, who was still a Torchic.

"Torch!" the small bird said.

"I don't care what anyone says, your Ember saved our butt!"

"Chick!" Blaze replied.

Older Maverick chuckled as he watched his younger self clear the distance between the entrance and the dinner's counter. It was also at that moment when he remembered this day. The day he met Pokémon Trainer Riley, but more importantly, the day he got Courage as an egg.

Younger Maverick sat on the counter stool as he tore into a burger with his mouth. Blaze pecked at the food as well, much to his trainer's ire. They were in their own world of happy laughs, and daydreams. They hadn't even noticed the tall fellow in blue sit beside them. Said fellow looked at the young black kid from out the corner of his hat, and took note of the golden badge.

"Good job kid." he said.

"Huh... what?" Maverick said, turning to face the man in blue.

"I said, good job..."

"Good job for what?"

"Gullible are you? I'm talking about the Stone badge... you beat Roxanne, good job."

"Yeah... I'm going after Brawly next... I just need to learn Surf."

"Taking down all of the Hoenn Gyms huh?"

"Yeah! As the old saying goes, to be a Pokémon master is my destiny!"

The man nodded his head.

"Name's Riley..."

"Huh? Oh... I'm Maverick."

"Nice to meet you Maverick."

"Say, are you a Pokémon trainer too?"

"Yeah."

"Oh... wanna battle?"

"Heh... I'm not sure you want to start something so quick, kid."

Riley took a sip of his drink, before looking back to young Maverick.

"I can tell you'll be something great though." he commented.

"What's that suppose to mean?" young Maverick asked.

"You'll find out someday."

Maverick returned to his burger, when someone quickly busted through the dinner's front door. Both Maverick and Riley spun around to size up the probable attackers. They walked in slowly, a trio of men. They wore red hoodies with stylized 'M's on their chests. Riley shook his head once he figure out who they were, while Maverick stood oblivious to the fact.

"Team Magma..." the blue trainer said.

"Team who?" Maverick said as he and Blaze looked up to the older man.

"Listen up everyone!" One of the Magma members said as he stepped forward, "We're Team Magma and we don't like to repeat ourselves. We're looking for a certain trainer named, Riley."

"Uh..." one of the waitresses said, "What do you want?"

"Oh looky here." the Magma member said as he gazed up and down the waitress' body, "What do we have here."

He moved over closer to her, and laid his hand on her butt quickly.

"Don't you look cute."

"Hey, let go of her!" Maverick called out from his seat.

The Magma member jerked his eyes to the black kid, who quickly scarfed down the rest of his sandwich.

"What did you say punk." he asked.

"I said, let go of her, or else."

"Or else what?"

"Blaze, Ember."

The Torchic ruffled its own feathers, before pointing its open beak toward the man in read. A second later, it spewed a series of small, flaming hot fire balls toward the man. The Magma member quickly leaped out-of-the-way, causing the fire balls to strike a table multiple times. The small fire balls tore into the table and caused it to seemingly self destruct.

"You see that?" Maverick boasted, "My Torchic, Blaze's ember is so struck, it tears through things like bullets, though I've never seen it affect human skin." he slowly traded looks with the Magma member, "Care to be my practice dummy?"

At first, the Magma member was surprised. Turning to his friends, to his displeasure, they were chuckling. He quickly jerked his eyes back toward the kid, and said,

"You mock a Team Magma member? You'll pay for that kid."

He withdrew a Poké ball from his pocket, and threw it to the ground quickly. It snapped open, and brought out the Houndour within.

"Houndour!" it roared.

"Wow... I've never seen that kind of Pokémon before."

"It's Dark Fire-type kid." Riley said as he stood up behind Maverick, "Probably knows Flash fire, an ability which allows it to absorb Fire type moves."

"Even my enhanced Ember?"

"Especially your enhanced Ember."

Maverick looked at the dog before him with a grim look, while his trainer grinned evilly.

"What kid, you scared?" the Magma member asked.

"Not really." Maverick replied. Withdrawing a Poké ball, he yelled out, "Go Misty!"

Throwing it to the ground, it snapped open and revealed the young Trapinch inside.

"Trapinch!" she called.

"This is pissin me off," the Magma member yelled, "Houndour, use Bite!"

The hound leaped forward and latched his sharp fangs onto her round head. The Ant Pit Pokémon spun around rapidly, before Maverick barked out,

"Misty, Bite that thing back!"

Quickly, the Pokémon escaped her foes jaws, before driving her own sharp teeth into the hounds snout. The Houndour reeled back in pain, before getting back into an attack position.

"Misty, Sand Tomb!" Maverick barked.

The Ant Pit Pokémon's eyes gleamed, causing a torrent of sand to surround her foe. The Houndour was swept up in the powerful sand storm, before being promptly thrown into an adjacent table.

"Trapinch!" Misty cried, much to her master's glee.

The Magma member stepped back in minor rage, before turning to his allies,

"What, you're just gonna sit there and watch!?"

"Alright, alright, jeez." one of his partners said as he stepped forward, "Who would've thought you'd fuck up so hard." withdrawing a Great ball, he grinned before announcing, "Go, Baltoy!"

The modified Poké ball snapped open, and brought to light the clay doll pokemon,

"Baltoy..." it said, it's voice echoing off the walls silently.

"Baltoy... ground psychic..." Maverick said to himself.

"What's wrong kid, scared?" the Magma member said, his tongue snaking in and out of his mouth.

"You're about to be the scared one! Misty, Bite!"

The Trapinch riled itself up, before leaping forward teeth first.

"Baltoy, Rapid Spin!" the Magma member said.

Like a spinning top, the clay Pokémon began to twirl around at high speeds. When Misty's teeth met its high speeding body, she was struck back flawlessly. Maverick flinched at his Pokémon pain, before coming up with a plan.

"Alright, now your annoying me!" he threatened, "Blaze, use Ember on that spinning top, now!"

The small bird started up its attack, but right when it fired its deadly spray of flaming bullets, the Houndour from before leaped in his way, taking the blast. The fire absorbed into his skin, and caused flames to sprout from the small dog's nose, signifying its increase in power.

"Give it up kid, and maybe we won't hurt you so bad!" the Houndour's owner claimed.

"I don't give up!" Withdrawing one more Poké ball from his book bag, the young trainer quickly exclaimed, "I choose you, Salvador!"

The red and white Poké snapped against the ground, bringing forth the Ruffian Pokémon,

"Corpish! Corpish!" he yelled out.

The Magma team leader stepped back as he felt a rushing sense of urgency.

"Help us out here!" he called to the last member of his group.

The last Magma member sighed, before tossing forth his Poké ball. It snapped forth, and revealed the tiny bat Pokémon, Zubat.

"Zu! Zu!" it roared, its wings flapping in the sky.

Maverick tensed up, as a plan formulated in his head.

"Blaze! Ember on that Zubat! Salvador, use Bubble on that Houndour, and Misty, Tackle that Baltoy down!"

His Pokémon nodded in unison, before dashing forth to carry out their trainer's plans. The Magma member's started barking out orders quickly, but this only resulted in a lack of planning amongst the allies. The Baltoy started to rapidly spin, but Misty wised up from last time. Waiting for her foe to loose its balance, she quickly struck it head first with her mighty skull. The Baltoy went flying back, before crashing into the table below. Meanwhile, Salvador and his quick Houndour foe, circled each other over and over again, before the flaming pup charged head first. His head slammed into Salvador's hard shell, but did relatively nothing. Salvador used his powerful pincers to hold his foe down, before producing a series of playful, but heavy, bubbles from his mouth. The bubbles floated around the Houndour at first, before rushing into his flaming hide. Meanwhile, the enemy Zubat danced in the air as Blaze's flaming ember pellets chased after it. The ember pellets pelted the ceiling and walls in an effort to chase down, and though they destroyed all that came in its path, it failed to hit its target. This infuriated Blaze to no end, who constantly forced more and more strength into his blasts. The pellets traveled up and down the ceiling, causing damage that would probably be dangerous to fix. When the bird suddenly stopped, the Zubat was lured into a false sense of security.

"Zu... Zubat?" it questioned its foe.

"Torchic!" Blaze said, cocky vigor in his throat.

Looking up, the small Zubat realized why his foe was so happy. A ceiling fan suddenly fell off from its wires, and collapsed onto its target. Blaze hopped up and down, pleased that his plan worked.

"What the hell is going on here!?" The Magma team leader said.

"It seems we're losing..." the Baltoy's owner said.

"Well fuck that! I refuse to meet defeat!" the Magma team leader barked out.

Sliding his hand into his pocket, he suddenly withdrew the gold and black Ultra Ball. Maverick looked at the spherical object with awe. Never before had he seen such a Poké ball, and he was excited to see what was on the other end. The Magma leader threw the ball forward, and it quickly snapped open. What came to life, was a Pokémon Maverick had never seen before.

"Mightyena!" the great hound said.

"Mightyena," the Magma member said, "Crush that fool's Pokémon!"

The mighy hound opened its great jaw, and showed the trio of Pokémon its drooling teeth.

"MIGHTY!" It roared as it stepped forward.

Maverick was shocked frozen. He had never seen such a big Pokémon in person before and he wasn't sure if he could take it down.

"Ummm... Blaze, Ember!"

The Torchic ruffled its feathers, preparing his attack, but the Mightyena was quick, and before the young chicken could attack, his paw was on his body. It's savage drool, dripped out of his mouth near the young bird, and caused Maverick to get angry.

"Get off of Blaze you brute! Misty, Signal Beam!"

The small ant pit Pokémon opened its jaw, but the Mightyena gave her an evil glare. Somehow, that glare caused her to lock up. Maverick looked down to Salvador, but the ruffian Pokémon was stepping back in fear.

"Poison Bite now Mightyena!" the Magma leader said, a crazed look in his eye.

"I've seen enough," Riley said as he stood, "Stop this tirade now!"

The Mightyena locked up almost immediately. Riley stood up from his stool as he looked long and hard at the Magma leader.

"So... you're looking for me is it?"

"Wait... you're Riley?" the Magma member said.

"For pursurers, you're not pretty smart, are you?"

"Hey, don't make me turn my Mightyena on you!"

"Oh please..."

Slowly, Riley reached into his blue vest, and withdrew a red and white Poké ball. Instead of throwing it though, he dropped it to the ground, snapping it open. In a brilliant flash of light and beauty, the Aura Pokémon came out.

"LUCARIO!" he said, his voice echoing through the dinner.

Young Maverick looked up at the anubis like Pokémon, his mouth wide open. He was truly at a lost of words. But one phrase came to mind.

"Is... Is that a legendary Pokémon?" he asked Riley.

The older man chuckled at the boy's naïve words, before he turned his attention to the daunting Mightyena.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere." he commanded.

The Aura Pokémon nodded, before cupping his paws together. A blue energy sphere formed suddenly, and once fully charged, the Pokémon fired it toward the Mightyena. It collided with its body, and sent the creäture careening into the dinner's front door. The attack was so powerful, the hound didn't stop when it hit the door, but instead destroyed the very hinges that kept the door held up. The Mightyena flew out three more yards away, before finally hitting the hard pavement ground, pain surging in its body. The Magma member's looked at this with surprised, and scared, faces.

"What the hell?" the leader said.

"Uh... I think this is the point in time in which we run." his snake-like ally replied.

They turned to face Riley once more, but one look at his Lucario sent them away quickly.

"Hey, come back here and fight you cowards!" Maverick barked.

Riley laughed a bit, before dragging his eyes up and down the dinner walls.

"Seems you did a number on this place, huh?"

"Well... I wasn't expected a Pokémon battle in here."

"Unexpected things happen unexpectedly."

Riley walked up to the defeated Pokémon of the retreating Magma members. They stared back up at him with fear in their small round eyes. Riley shook his head, disgusted at the poor treatment of the small creatures. Looking to his Lucario, the creäture crossed his arms in a knowing pose.

"Maverick," Riley said as he walked up, "how many Pokémon do you own?"

"Not much... just these three as of now."

Riley chuckled before smiling.

"I can see you'll be a good trainer when you grow up, so here."

Walking back to his stool chair, the man in blue picked up a grey and black satchel. Unzipping a pouch, he pulled out a heavy blue and black, egg-shaped object.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked as he turned to the young boy.

"N-no..."

"This is a Pokémon egg. One day, it'll hatch into a great and powerful Pokémon, as long as you show it love and warmth. Can you do that?"

Maverick nodded.

"Yes sir..."

"Good... then here you go."

Carefully, he placed the big egg into Maverick's hands. He held it tight at first, before he felt a strange and new warmth emitting from it. The young trainer placed his ear to the egg, wondering if it would produce any noises.

"Hey," Riley said as he came near the dinner's exit, "If you ever come out to the Sinnoh region, come to a place called Iron Island... we'll battle then."

Maverick nodded, but he was so mesmerized by the egg, he missed the part about Iron Island.

"Riley!" he said, but as he turned to the entrance, the mysterious trainer was already gone. Maverick clutched the egg close, before he shuffled his book bag to his front side. His Pokémon gathered around him, their eyes glued to the new egg.

"Shiny, ain't it?" Maverick said.

Slowly, he covered the egg around in towels and clothing he had in his book bag. A smile coursed up his lips while he stared at the unborn life form.

"I wonder what it will be..." he said to his Pokémon.

"Corph..." Salvador said.

"Trapinch! Trapinch!" Misty said, a gleeful look in her buggy eyes.

"Torchic?" Blaze questioned.

"Corphish!" Salvador answered him.

"Alright you guys calm down." Maverick said, "Let's get a move on... we need to find a boat to Slateport city."

In unison his Pokémon nodded. But as Maverick stood up, he felt a furry object brush up against his leg. Turning around he saw the sad faces of the Magma member's Pokémon.

"Hound..." the Houndour said.

"Zu... Zu...?" the Zubat asked.

"Baltoy." the Baltoy said.

Maverick at first scoffed, not believing his foes wanted to join him. But, seeing as how they were abandoned by their trainers, he felt sorry. So taking pity on the trio, he said,

"C'mon... you can stay with me if you want." the trio of Pokémon started to bounce up and down jovially, and trailed after Maverick as he walked off toward the exit, "But you all are gonna need names soooo..." Young Maverick's voice trailed off as he exited the destroyed dinner. Moments later, the apparition faded away, leaving the older Maverick behind, by himself.

Boy did he remember that day. It was the first time he ever ran into an evil group of any kind. It was also the first time he ever came in contact with a Pokémon egg. Those three Pokémon he gained that day, Amon, his Houndour, Luci, his Zubat, and Baron, his Baltoy, played valuable roles in his defeat of the Hoenn league. Those three, who had become fully evolved by now, remained close to the trainer, even after those years.

But more importantly, that day taught Maverick how to care for something completely defenseless. It taught him how to look after, and watch something. That day, gave him something to protect...

Maverick crossed his arms unhappily. These mind games were making him angrier with each passing second. Right now, he really wished his gun wasn't changed into a banana.

"What next, huh, Darkrai!? What next!?" he barked out.

Turning around in the new void, his eyes caught sight of something peculiar. Lying on a pedestal, in a bright pink dress, was Courage. Maverick was taken aback by the image at first, before saying,

"This is can't be good..."


	5. Chapter 5

"Ain't she pretty?" Darkrai said, his voice a mocking southern tone.

"Courage?" Maverick said as he walked forth, "Are you alright?"

There was no answer on her side. Maverick grinded his teeth at first, before barking out to the void,

"DARKRAI! What the hell have you done!?"

"Oh finally, you show some emotions!"

The Pokémon in question floated out from the ground eerily, before looking deep into Maverick's eyes.

"And I mean _true _emotions, not that angry bullshit you've been stomping around with."

At almost gale force winds, Maverick appeared in front of Darkrai's cocky mug. Before the malevolent Pokémon could say or do anything, Maverick's powerful angry hands made their way around dark creature's neck.

"What the fuck, have you done to _MY_ Courage!?"

"What-ack-, was that-urgh!-, Maverick? _My _Courage?"

"DON'T PLAY WITH ME!"

Raising his hand, the trainer struck the pitch-black Pokémon savagely with his back hand. Though the strike was obviously painful, Darkrai laughed it off harmlessly.

"Oh Arceus! You must really love that Lucario of yours!"

"What have you done to her!?"

Darkrai did not answer, but his laughing increased exponentially. Before Maverick knew it, the dark Pokémon faded from his hands and disappeared into the deep black void. Maverick grinded his teeth, before spinning over to face Courage. Just as before, she was lying on the pedestal, still. Maverick stepped slowly toward his Pokémon, as he took notice of he surroundings. The closer he got to Courage, the more flourished and detailed the area became, until he wasn't in the void anymore. Instead, he was in a church like area. A chandelier hung over head, illuminating the dark hall. Gazing down to his clothing, the trainer was shocked to discover he was no longer wearing the sweater he usually wore, by now donned a princely blue button up shirt, along with black pants, and a gold and black sash over his shoulder. Maverick grabbed the bridge of his nose, groaned from annoyance, before saying,

"I hate my life..."

Springing into action moments later, the trainer grabbed his Pokémon quickly.

"Courage?" he said, "Courage, are you alright?"

She didn't answer him. Her eyes were closed shut, and her breathing was... latent. Maverick looked her up and down slowly. Her chest didn't go up and down, and small seeps of air escaped her mouth and nostrils every now and then. This terrified Maverick to no end. Sliding his hands under Courage's legs and neck, the trainer held his Pokémon bridal style before saying,

"Don't worry Courage, we'll get out of here in no time flat."

This statement caused an awkward spur within his Pokémon. With an extremely low breath, she sighed. Maverick smiled, she was alive, at least. The princely trainer gripped tightly onto his Pokémon, before trekking off down the dark church halls. His footsteps were heavy, and the echoed endlessly off the walls. The church that Maverick ran through felt more like a castle, due to how great it was. Gazing out of the windows, Maverick saw an endless night sky. No trees, no mountains, no clouds, no moon. Just dark skies, and stars.

This place held no significance to Maverick. He did not know where he was, nor did he care. He just wanted to escape. Looking down to the Pokémon in his arms, he was surprised to see just how light she was. Maverick always believed that bellow that insanely powerful interior, was the weight to back it up. Though, of course, he would never be stupid enough to tell her this.

Gazing up and down his Pokémon's body, he also started to feel she was quite, cute looking. Maverick always felt Courage was different from other Lucarios. Other than being a girl, something rare amongst the species, her facial features always felt softer. Maybe it was because she was a woman, but Maverick didn't believe this. When Courage was mad, her face hardened quickly. So why did Maverick always feel so... different about Courage. Part of it was because she was his, that's for sure, but the trainer always felt there was something vastly different about his Lucario. It must have been just because of that. Because _she _was _his._ Courage belonged to him, and he loved that. No one else could claim her but him.

Stopping in the middle of the hall, Maverick thought about that for a moment.

"I... own you..." he whispered into his Lucario's ears, "I own you..."

"Master..." Courage's voice echoed from her lips.

Those words caused Maverick heart to skip a beat.

"Courage! Are you alright!?"

"Master..." she repeated.

"Don't worry Courage," he assured, "I promise you, once I get you to safety, I am going to kick Darkrai's cloaked, ASS!"

Picking up the past, the Pokémon master ran off down the church halls, as his Pokémon arm's began to wrap around his neck.

"Mmmm... Master..." Courage cooed.

The trainer ignored his Pokémon's words as he searched feverishly for an escape. The place had quickly become a labyrinth, one he could not find his way out of. Clenching tightly onto his beloved Pokémon, he quickly jerked around finding something quite peculiar. Before him, in a stand keeping it up, was silver knight armor. More importantly, within the knight's hand, a broad sword. Maverick slowly laid Courage against the wall, before he grabbed knight's sword. Gazing into his reflection, he noticed a certain malevolent Pokémon phase into existence.

"Darkrai!" The trainer said.

"Where!?" the Pokémon merely replied, "Where the hell did you get that sword from!?"

Maverick grinned.

"What, didn't you put it here?"

"No! But I shall make it go away!"

Thrusting his hand forward, he forced clumps of darkness to surrounded Maverick's blade. Instead of disintegrating into nothing, however, the blade shined a brilliant light, and repelled the darkness. Maverick's grin became a malicious smile, before he said,

"So... I've got your kryptonite, huh?"

"It matters not! I've had my far share of fun with you trainer! I'm going to cast you into an endless void of nightmares."

"We'll see Darkrai!" Maverick said as he clenched the blade tightly.

The world around them quickly broke away, leaving the trainer, his Pokémon, and his foe, alone in a void of shadows. This quickly morphed away though, and became a mountainous region filled with rocks and boulders with screaming faces attached. Maverick scanned his area quickly, before jerking his eyes back to his foe. Darkrai sunk alarmingly into the ground, before appearing behind the trainer. Maverick swung his blade toward the pitch-black Pokémon, and gashed deeply into the his cloak. Darkrai floated back in pain, an injured roar coming from his mouth.

"H-How!?" he cried.

Maverick ran toward him, and quickly struck at the evil creäture with his blade. Darkrai wised up to this trick though, and quickly faded away into a silhouette. Maverick held his blade close and slowly started to close the difference between him and his Pokémon.

"I see..." Darkrai said, "I know who gave you that blade. That she devil! That harlot! How dare she intervene with my nightmares!"

"Who are you talking about?... Wait a second... Cresselia?"

"Oh, ho, ho! She got me good with that blade... no matter... two can play that game."

In an instant, a dark void opened below Maverick's feet. He leaped away with time to spare, but the damage had been done. Forming in the dark void, like a pitch black liquid, was a clone of Maverick. From the hair on his head, to the princely clothing the trainer was forced to wear, the clone was perfect. The only difference between he and Maverick was his piercing red eyes. Maverick held the blade in his hands close, before stepping toward his clone wearily. The fake Maverick raised his own blade, which was quickly enhanced by Darkrai's evil powers. Appearing black in steel, it was the perfect opposite of Maverick's white blade. With swift speed, Maverick clashed his blade with his foe's sword. Bolts of light energy and bolts of darkness flew off from the clashing steel suddenly. The evil Maverick swung at his foe's head, but the princely trainer dodged it by ducking down. Maverick countered his foes attack with a swift elbow to the face, before striking downward with his shimmering light blade. His evil clone's eyes glimmered, before he dodged the attack with great agility. Maverick scoffed at his clones abilities, before saying,

"Hey, there is no way in Hell I'm that agile!"

Evil Maverick smirked, before rushing forward with his blade at high speeds. Maverick blocked the attack barely, before countering with a punch to the stomach. His strike pushed his foe back a few feet, allowing him time to prepare his next attack. Maverick lunged forward, his blade high in the sky, and slammed his blade down on his clones weapon. The attack was so powerful, it destroyed the evil doppelgänger's blade. Pieces of darkness flew into air as evil Maverick was thrown to the ground. Maverick stood above his foe, his blade aimed over his foe's chest, and started to laugh.

"Good night!" He yelled, before thrusting the blade down.

His sword of shimmering light penetrated the hard ground beneath the clone Maverick's body. Evil Maverick let out echoes of pain as the blade of light slowly sent his body to the shadows from which he came. Something strange happened though before he died however. As Maverick watched his clone die, the malicious doppelgänger smiled evilly. Maverick pulled back at the sight, before painful prickling pierced through his body. Looking down, he saw a sharp object resembling Darkrai's hand. In fact, it was Darkrai's hand.

The pitch-black Pokémon floated behind him as his hands twisted inside of Maverick's body.

"Oh, you have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

Maverick coughed up his own blood as his eyes slowly rolled into the back of his skull. Darkrai removed his sharp appendage from Maverick's body and watched the trainer fall down to his feet. Maverick held tightly onto his body, but the blood refused to falter. He coughed up some more blood, before he looked among the ground for his beloved Pokémon.

"C-C-Courage?" he said, as he slowly crawled toward her.

The Lucario laid on the ground far from the battle, still in the pink dress her master found her in. When Maverick arrived at her body, he could feel the rush of life rapidly escape his body.

"Ah... ack! God... Damn you... Darkrai!" he said as his words slowly lost volume.

"Oh please Maverick, it was noticeable from the beginning... you lose..." the Pokémon of nightmares replied.

Maverick shook his head in defiance, before he slowly wrapped his arms around Courage's body.

"C-C-Courage... listen to me..." he said as pints of blood seeped out of his lips.


	6. Chapter 6

In a sea of red and black darkness, the aura Pokémon stood. Courage could have sworn she heard her Master's calling, but it ceased just as soon as it appeared. After hours of rummaging through darkness, she was ecstatic to hear her Master's voice again. But now that his voice faded to nothing, she was left alone.

"Master Maverick..." she said lowly.

At that moment, a brilliant bright light appeared near her. She stared at the light for a few seconds before her Master's voice rung again.

"Courage... listen..." he said, his voice sounding pained.

"Master Maverick!? Where are you?" Courage yelled.

"Courage... I'm sorry this had to happen..." he said, almost as if he did not hear her words.

"What are you talking about Master?"

"Courage... I couldn't get to you in time... Darkrai got to me... I... URGH!"

"Master!"

"Courage... I... I!..."

He couldn't finish his words, but... Courage felt her lips suddenly get wet. As if... someone kissed her. At that moment in time, the shining light engulfed her and the entire void. When the light subsided, she was no longer alone in the void. Instead, she was wearing a pink dress with blood spots on it. Beside her, her Master's still body.

"Master Maverick!" she called, but he did not move.

"What?" Darkrai suddenly said, "How did you wake up? The void I put you in was too deep."

Courage didn't answer him. Jerking her head over to the demonic Pokémon, her eyes were a shining white.

"FACE THE POWER OF THE AURA!" she roared.

Jumping to her feet, she began charging a powerful storm of aura energy. Darkrai's blue eyes opened wide, as he felt to come up with an escape plan. Deciding to faze away, the Pokémon tried to turn transparent, but, his powers did not work. He felt his entire body lock up.

"What is this!?" he roared.

Courage thrusted her paws forward, allowing her swarm of aura energy to form in a spherical object.

"No! NO!" Dakrai said, his body remaining still, "CRESSELIA!" he roared.

Slowly, the nightmarish being gazed off toward Courage. Her eyes were filled with complete and unhinged anger. And then she fired. Her righteous beam of power tore a wake through the dream dimension. As if in a mocking manner, Darkrai's body began to move at the last moment, giving him no time to dodge. The beam collided with his skin, and was so powerful, he could feel his very essence tear away from him. Slowly, he was sent skyward, as the beam bent up toward the air. Still held by the powerful blast, Darkrai could do nothing as he flew toward the stars. It wasn't long until he hit something. That something, being the edge of his forged world. He bounced off of the invisible field at first, before Courage's beam pelted him more. It continued on, and at such strength, Darkrai could not move. The edge of his world began to bend as Courage's force grew. As he broke concentration, the skies around him began to break away, as if glass. Pieces fell to the ground, and on the other end of Darkrai's insanity, was a bright and brilliant light. After seeing this, Courage faltered. But the sudden groan of her Master caused her to increase her power tenfold. The Aura Storm grew bigger and stronger, and began to force Darkrai out of the nightmare he so created. Gazing down to the Aura Pokémon, he could have sworn he saw rainbow sparkles. That caused his rage to reach its boiling point.

"CRESSELIA!" he roared, "CREEEESSSSSSEEEEEELLLLIIIIII AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

And once those words left his mouth, he was sent out of his dimension, and into the brilliant light on the other side. Courage's beam soon fizzled away after that. With her battle over, she quickly fell down to her knees. Looking down to the ground, she saw a red puddle which drove fear through her mind. Looking to her right, she saw her Master, barely clinging to life. She scampered to his position quickly, before coming to a lost of words.

"M-M-Master!" she cried.

"Courage..." he said, his voice so low.

Not wanting to hear his cries, she hugged him close, despite his blood dyeing her dress and fur a crimson red.

"Courage..." he said again, but even lower than before.

"Just... Let's wake up, Master... together..."

And, despite everything, she kissed him. Maverick groaned through his lips, but, regardless... she deserved it.

The light beyond the nightmare began to eat the world. The Trainer and his Pokémon didn't notice though. Well... Maverick didn't notice, until the pain in his body flew away.

...

The sound of a heart monitor plaid on in Maverick's mind. He groaned at first, before slightly opening up his eyes. In his face, the bright ceiling lights of the Snowpoint hospital. Maverick was, understandably, confused at first. With one eyebrow raised, he looked left and right.

"What the hell..." he said at first, "Where the hell am I?"

Bringing his hand to his head to rub it, Maverick felt an odd fabric. Having no mirror, the trainer could not tell what it was, but that did not stop him. Forcing his body, in an up position, the trainer took a long hard look around. His eyes came in contact with the snow-covered window, where he realized he had a coil around his head.

"Now how in God's name did that get here... In fact, how in God's name did I end up here?"

"Morning Maverick!" a bubbly voice echoed from the door.

Maverick turned around quickly, seeing Officer Jenny. Not the one of Lilycove, of course, but of Snowpoint.

"Uh... Hey Officer Jenny... could you tell me where the heck I am?"

The green haired policewoman laid a finger on her chin, before saying,

"Oh yeah... I forget, you were unconscious when you arrived."

"Officer, please tell me what happened?" he said, gaining her attention.

"Ok, ok... now... Maverick, you've been asleep for two days straight. We found you at the edge of Snowpoint, you had this huge gash running down the side of your head and were in pretty bad shape. Had it not been for your Lucario, you would've died."

"My Lucario... Courage! What happened to Courage!?" Maverick's voice was urgent and demanding.

Officer Jenny, stepped back at first, before saying with a smile,

"Don't worry Maverick, your Lucario is fine... she's just in intensive care is all..."

"Intensive care!? What the Hell happened!?"

"Calm down Maverick shees!... Okay, when we found you and your Lucario, there was a pretty hectic and powerful storm outside. Hail rained from the skies, and it was pretty impossible to see more than two feet ahead of yourself. Somehow, despite all of that, your Lucario was able to carry you all the way here."

"But... I remember running a shed... and Darkrai..."

"Darkrai? You mean that old horror story parents tell their kids?"

"Yeah but... I literally fought Darkrai and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa Maverick. I think you hit your head pretty badly out there. When we found you, the hail was the size of tombstones."

"I think that's an exaggeration."

"I wish I could say it was, you didn't see the dent it put in your head."

"So your telling me... all of that, that I just experienced... didn't really happen? It was a dream... a, a nightmare?"

"I haven't the slightest clue what you are talking about, but when you bring Pokémon like Darkrai in the mix, I assume its insane. So, did you also run into Mew in that dream of yours?"

"Officer Jenny..."

"How bout, Jirachi? Celebi even? Any other debatable legendaries?"

"Officer Jenny! Where's Courage?"

"Maverick, she's in intensive treatment... Nurse Joy says she'll be there for a while."

At that moment, a loud crashing echoed through the building. The screams of Chanseys and Blisseys roared out too, followed by a slight tremor. Maverick leaned up in his bed while he and Officer Jenny traded concern looks. Seconds later, Nurse Joy collapsed on the side of the doorway. She was gasping for air, as minor injuries stained her body.

"Is..." she gasped, "That demonic Lucario, yours by any chance?"

Maverick nodded slowly, his eyes widened.

"Good!" she screamed.

Stepping away, she allowed Courage to step in. She was wearing her red cap, Maverick's jacket, and his Poké belt to boot.

"Courage!" Maverick said, springing up from his bed.

"Lucario!" she answered.

Maverick cleared the distance between him and his Pokémon and hugged her close. This was followed by the quick as lighting jump back Maverick did after colliding with Courage's chest spike. He looked her up and down slowly, before chuckling childishly.

"Guess I got a bit _too_ happy, huh Courage?"

The Lucario smiled, before grabbing her Master, keeping in mind to keep her chest spike away from his gut.

"Lucario..." she said, her voice back to the calm and cool exterior of old.

"Courage..." Maverick's voice became stern so sudden, "I... I don't know how to say this but... ohhh..."

Slowly, he brought her cheek up, and kissed it. Courage's snout heated up, while Officer Jenny went, 'Awwww' with pleasure.

"Thanks Courage." her trainer said, "I mean... I'd literally be dead right now if it weren't for you."

"Lu..." she said, her eyes becoming misty.

"You know Courage... sometimes, I forget just how fortunate I am, to have you."

Courage rubbed her eyes with her arm, before saying in a forced stern voice,

"Lucariooo..."

"This is sweet and everything," Nurse Joy said, her voice sarcastic, "But that Lucario right there just KO'd four Chanseys, an Audino, and six, count'em, six Blisseys, not to she mention bothered a highly injured person."

"I don't mind." Maverick said.

"Not you!" the pink haired nurse barked, "Old Man Jenkins! He's down the hall from you."

"Oh... sorry about that." Maverick said.

"Ok, ok!" Jenny said as she walked up, "I think its time you went back in bed, and you, Missy Courage, calmed down, okay."

Both Pokémon Trainer and his Pokémon nodded in unison.

"Good! Now, I'll visit you in the morning Maverick! My sister's been mighty worried about you."

"I figured." he replied as he got back into the hospital bed.

Wrapping himself up in the bed covers, the trainer quickly got into a cocoon of warmth. Courage sat down on a bed near him, before taking his Poké belt off of her waist.

"Lucario." she said as she handed it to her Master.

Maverick looked at it for a moment, before grinning.

"Nah, how about you tell me about your day, Courage?" Maverick said.

"Lucario?" she questioned, though Maverick was sure it meant, "What?"

"Yeah," he suddenly recanted, "I can't understand a word you say... I guess... you can still try."

Courage laid her hands on her hips, before going on in a string of Lucario's, about her day. Maverick smiled, before staring off into her red eyes. He wondered if she remembered the nightmare, or if said nightmare actually happened. Then he dream up everything? That would explain his sudden feelings for his Pokémon, but do dreams make things out nothing? Or form things out of something? Maverick did not know, but he did realize one thing. He loved Courage... as a lover or great friend, he was not about to delve into, but he did love his Pokémon. But he knew one thing. He was going to kick Darkrai's ever-loving ass the next time he saw him. Whenever that was...

"Lucario?" Courage suddenly said, getting his attention.

"What's wrong Courage."

"Master..." she whispered.

"What?"

Maverick forgot that on rare occasions, his Lucario could speak.

"Yeah..." he said, "Master..."

...

Four days later...

Maverick gazed at Snowpoint Temple. The snow fell so lightly that day. Maverick was wearing a long over coat, as he trekked through the three-foot snow toward the dark grey temple. He recovered quickly, though, years of Pokémon adventuring would do that to a person. Behind him was Blaze. And behind him was Courage. And behind her was Misty, followed by Veneticus, Bary, and Maria. A great battle was about to go down at the top of Snowpoint Temple. Regigigas...


End file.
